23.5 hours

So my plan for self-discipline has been going pretty well until this week. Priorities loomed and I felt "too busy." Then along came this YouTube video that I thought was very good, and I wanted to share it. I have been doing 35-45 minutes of exercise for a couple of weeks, and I've felt better than I have in months. Training the girls was more fun! This was good motivation to keep it up!

2011 Flashback: Devon's AX

I can’t let 2011 get too far in the past without a blog about Devon’s agility career. Agility has been tough for her, and a lot of it has had to do with training (i.e., it’s my fault). I took for granted the access to foundation training I had in Ohio, and I didn’t have it here. What I learned through Devon helped me create the agility foundation program I used with Page and now teach.

But Devon did come with a fear of movement and she’s very environmentally aware, so lack of confidence in her foundation along with those issues have caused training and confidence problems. And in Oct 2009, after earning her OA, Devon got spooked on the teeter in training and wouldn’t get back on it. It took her nearly 6 months to even start back with a board and a 1-inch dowel.

Then in June 2010, I pushed a weave performance one weekend during a 3-day trial when she was sore in her left shoulder (something she’s battled on and off for most of her career). That caused a weave confidence problem!

So 2011 was the year if we would figure out of Devon was really going to have an agility career. Other than tracking to finish her VST and some obedience training here and there, we focused on agility all year. And it paid off!

In 2011, Devon earned all three legs of her AX for her title, as well as her first MX leg. All three of her AX legs were earned at “home” training buildings. I had a slight worry that she’d never weave successfully away from home on the first try, when she earned her first MX leg in Zanesville, Ohio, proving me wrong! In addition to her first master’s standard leg, Devon earned three MXJ legs this year and a total of 30 MACH points.

While 30 MACH points in one year is certainly low, it represents a year of hard work for us. Most of her Qs and points came in the second half of the year. By December, Devon looked confident and happy in agility. Even though we didn’t Q all weekend in her last trial of 2011, I’m so proud of her attitude and performance. We’re getting there, and I can’t wait for next weekend when we get to step to the line again.

The one thing I have learned with Devon is it truly is a pleasure to step to the line with her in any venue. She is a happy willing worker, but she really does it so we can have fun together. When I remember that, magic happens!

2011 Flashback: CT Devon!

I cannot believe it's taken me this long to post about Devon's VST/CT pass. Devon is my first certified tracking dog, first TD, first TDX and second VST/CT dog. Devon and I have learned tracking together, and she has been a wonderful teacher. Without Devon, Page would never have earned her CT ... even though it was a year earlier than Devon's pass. I've told Devon since we got Page that her journey is going to take a different path than Page's - and that's OK by me!

Devon made the third draw in the Oct. 2, 2011, Glenbard Obedience Training Club's VST test in DeKalb, Ill., on the campus of Northern Illinois University. This was the second time I'd made the trip to this campus and this test. It was the site of Page's pass on Oct. 3, 2010, and of Devon's first VST test.

I was more than ready for Devon's VST journey to be over in October 2011. The first fall had been fantastic. Page earned her VST at her first test, and out of three tests in the fall of 2010, Devon nearly passed two coming within approx. 100 yards of the final article. I knew my dog could pass this test! I was content that most VST/CT journeys take several tries and a lot of time due to the difficulty of getting into tests and then passing them. I knew it was your track on your day, so I was fine to hold her over the winter.

But the winter of 2010-2011 was very cold and snowy without much tracking. Then we started entering spring tests and NOT making the draw. UGH! Here I had a dog ready and no tests! We finally made the sixth test we entered, the last test of the season in late May. It was a sunny day and the first 85 degree day and my dog was toast. At that point, I knew I'd have to hold Devon over the summer, and with work ramping up I knew it would be tough to track.

The summer of 2011 was HOT. I realized that Devon couldn't track VST above 75 degrees. As fall approached and the October VST test deadlines were looming, we'd only tracked about 7-8 times. Devon looked good ... but then I again was I dreaming she looked good? We'd hardly tracked, so was she really ready for the grueling VST test? I entered, trusting my dog, and we made the draw for the first test of our fall season.

It was good we'd been to DeKalb. I knew the area and was comfortable. It was also good I knew the route, because Sunday morning came with pockets of very heavy fog. There were times on my drive to the campus that I couldn't see past the hood of the van.

I got to campus very early and waited. I chatted with two wonderful people with Goldens, one new to tracking and working the test. Finally the draw came, and we got track #2! Yeah!!! I LOVE early tracks. I had hoped for an early track, because if it ran like the year before, the early tracks were on the west side of campus in the less populated areas. The down side of those tracks was geese, as I'd learned the year before. The downsides of the later tracks were people and squirrels!

In a last minute judging change, Darlene Bernard was joining her husband John as the judge because the original judge was ill. This was the same judging panel as I'd had the previous year. I stayed at the draw site, as they wanted each of the participants to stay there during the track before them.

I heard quickly that the exhibitor at track #1 failed, so it was our turn! I drove to the track, but there was no parking near the start, so I handed over my keys to a wonderful person in the gallery, got Devon, and we walked with Darlene to the start.

Here is where the test got REALLY interesting. Devon's start was almost exactly where Page's final article had been the previous year. I knew this was going to be tough for me not to want the track to be like Page's track. I was going to have to watch and trust my dog.


Darlene told me as we were walking to the track that they moved the start up because there was a bunny nest near it (i.e., don't let my dog go backwards!!). Then Devon saw a squirrel playing near her start as we walked up. I was NOT going to let her go squirrel hunting this year (an evil squirrel on this campus last year is why she didn't pass).

Devon started well, and indicated her first turn nicely. However, when she got halfway down the leg, she start circling. Unfortunately, she had to poop, which makes her very distracted while tracking. The first orange box on the map is the search area she made after she pooped. This was again very hard on me, because this was the exact search area Page had on this test the previous year. The track could have gone on either side of this street, and as much as I thought it was on the other side, I doubted myself as to whether I wanted it there because it was last year.

Devon finally dragged me across the street (the blue line) and came up with a plastic article. Later, Darlene said that was one of the nicest pieces of tracking she'd ever seen from a VST dog, and the fact that I followed her unquestioningly was a nice piece of handling. This was also the same location where Page dragged me back across the street last year to track to her pass. Things were very eerie for me!

Devon came up with the plastic article, but she did it coming perpendicular to the track. I suspected this, but when she started working forward, I let her explore. Again, I wasn't sure if I was reading her correctly or wanting it to be like 2010. Finally when she worked back toward where we found the article, I opened my shoulders toward either possibility, sat her, watered her and rescented her. When she worked along the purple line, I stepped out in confidence behind her. This was a difficult mental thing to do, because I had so many doubts.

We came upon a pavement pad between trees and a dumpster and imagine my horror to see the ground covered in broken glass (marked on the map in the red box). Lots of it! I took a subtle peek behind me and Darlene was still directly behind me as was the gallery (always a good sign), so I pushed Devon through the glass. When she wanted to circle, I guided her on through, not caring if I got a reprimand from the judges. I was not going to injure my dog! (I checked and washed her paws thoroughly after the test.)

Out onto the parking lot, and in VST, that means you are looking for an MOT, or Moment of Truth turn. For those non-trackers that's a 90 degree turn on a non veg surface where the dog cannot accomplish the turn by fringing on veg; typically it means no veg within at least 30 yards of the turn in any direction.

When Devon indicated a right turn, then double checked herself and indicated it again, I went. You can see by the blue line on the map, she turned a little early. As we tracked forward, I was searching the area for another article, knowing most judges will try and reward the dog with an article after the MOT if they can, and we had not yet had an article on non-veg (at least one article needs to be on non-veg). I saw the article about a split second before Devon winded it and headed that way.

At the article, I knew two things. First, I knew the track diverged from the 2010 track here, because Devon's article was at the spot of Page's MOT in 2010. Second, I knew the track went forward along the building and into the grass because we had no place else to go. We only had to find that last article, and we still needed one more turn, but we were close. In fact, Devon and I had been this close on two other occasions the fall of 2010, but I was determined we'd finish this time! We had only a little more parking lot and good lush grass in front of us!

After a water break and a rescent at the article, Devon tracked strongly across the parking lot to the grass. I could see the tracklayer's steps in the wet grass into the pine trees. Out of the pine trees, Devon started circling. The orange box shows you the search area, and the photo here is of us during the search. Devon looks confident, doesn't she? The final article is to my left up the hill, beyond it's crest and to the right of the two pines and shadows of the trees.

I think this is the only place I really almost panicked. We were so close, and we'd failed at this point two other times! My mental game slipped, and I was ready to put my nose down and find that last article myself!

What you can't tell from the map but can see in the photo is that we had to go up hill for the final article. After seeing the end of the track and the terrain, I do know why Devon struggled here. Remember I said it was very, very foggy that morning? Fog is damp and damp holds scent. I now know she was working the scent cone from the final article. It had traveled downhill with the fog and settled in that valley area, especially the taller cover she wanted to go into. The tracklayer's scent was trapped in the trees, but once she cleared them, Devon was exposed to this large fairly dense scent cone she needed to explore. Her early article search about gave me heart failure!

Finally we worked back to that pine tree area, where I knew the track was. I sat Devon and watered her and rescented her and she settled right back into her job, moving forward and uphill. As we crested the small rise, I saw a bright teal sock on the grass and as Devon crested the hill right after me, she saw it too. Devon made a beeline for it, and as soon as it was in her mouth I raised my hand in success!

Can you see me with my arm in the air on the hill in the upper middle of this photo? And Darlene with her hands in the air by the pine trees in the lower left. Darlene was all smiles when she saw Devon come back down the hill, sock in hand. She cheered in delight, as did John behind her and the gallery sent up a cheer, too. I think that's my tracklayer in the gallery with her arm in the air.

I was in tears as soon as Devon had that sock. I ran down the hill and threw my arms around Darlene and thanked her for passing both of my girls to their Champion Tracker. The first words out of her mouth were, "I know! And did that track look familiar???" What a hoot! I bet Darlene was floored when I drew track #2.

After a quick hug for John, Devon ran to the gallery to present her sock to each and every one of them. They all gave her the adoration she deserved! I was fortunate to have one other VST judge in the gallery, Beth Walker, who later passed with her Belgian Terv earning another CT. Jeanne Ramirez was also in the gallery, wife of judge Vince Ramirez and another multiple CT Terv trainer/handler. Both complemented us on our pass and me on my handling.

In addition, my tracklayer had Goldens and just started tracking. This was her first VST track she laid. She said several folks in the gallery remarked on my good handling. That's important to me because I've never wanted to fail my dogs by my handling. Several in the gallery also remembered Page's pass last year, and they were very impressed with both my dogs. At the end of the day, Darlene asked me when I was going to bring another Gaylan's Golden Retriever for them to pass to be another CT. I told them it would be a while! I had no more tracking dogs left in my house to finish!

Now for the details: Devon's track was 655 yards long, with 379 yards of veg and 276 yards of non-veg. It was aged 3 hours and 5 minutes. It had four turns (yes, really!), and leg lengths were 115 yards, 66 yards, 169 yards, 260 yards and 45 yards. Devon passed in approximately 25 minutes, which is very quick for a VST pass (Page took about 45 minutes). There were a total of 3 passes at our test, which is a very high pass rate out of 8 tracks.

As has been the case from the time Page entered our lives, Devon's pass is intertwined with Page's pass. Their journeys, while different, are so interrelated. The October Glenbard Obedience Training Club's test at DeKalb is the test where Page passed her VST/CT. For those of you who do tracking, you know that it is a random draw to even get in a test. Then, once you reach the site, you have a second random draw for tracks the day of the test.

There are 8 tracks at this test. Devon got the third draw and drew track #2. In 2010, Page had drawn track #3. Imagine my surprise when they took me to Devon's track, and the start flag was almost exactly where Page's final article was! The map here is an overlay of Page's track from 2010 (pink) with Devon's track from 2011 (purple). What where the odds that I drew that track when 75% of it was Page's track from the previous year backwards! It was incredibly difficult for me to handle Devon wondering if I was seeing what I wanted to see or she was really tracking what she was supposed to!

So that's Devon's story of her VST pass. While Page's was a great accomplishment, her journey was much shorter and straight forward. Devon is my first certified dog, and we worked for four years for this title. When Devon certified to track at 7 months, the first words out of the judge's mouth were not congratulations. They were, "Did you know what she did back there before the last turn?" My response was to ask if we'd passed; I'd never certified I dog before. Judge Steve Ripley said, "Yes you did, but did you see what she did?" I said no.

He then told me Devon indicated a 48-hour old cross track he'd laid in the field 2 days before. He asked me how far I wanted to go with this dog, and without really understanding what I was saying I said, "I want a Champion Tracker." Five years later, that dream came true! I have to thank Steve for teaching me what he knows about VST tracking. Steve and his wife Janet who laid hundreds of footsteps for Devon to track were an important part of success.

Devon and I learned tracking together, she taught me what I know about how dogs track scent, and she is my heart dog. Frankly, I'm glad our journey was longer; there was more to savor. What a great joy it was for us to accomplish this goal together! She is a truly wonderful dog.

2011 Flashback: Page gets a mulligan!

It’s rare in an AKC trial to actually get a mulligan, or a “do over.” A few months ago, Page and I got one, and I decided to use it to my advantage. Page had not been weaving, due mainly to her lack of wanting to collect to slow down the game. We were just past our third try at the weaves and moving on when half the lights went out in the ring. The judge gave us a do over because we had not completed the course, even though we had already NQ’d.

When we finally got to run the course again (20 minutes later and not 5 minutes later as initially thought), Page went around the second jump. UGH! Something we’d done so well in the first attempt. I’m not fast enough to turn her around, and I knew the weaves would be a problem anyway, so I changed my plan.

When I walked the course, I knew you could run it with all front crosses or all rear crosses. In my first attempt, I went with all fronts, and I was happy with the results. So the second time when I had nothing to lose, I used all rear crosses. How rare is it to get the same course and the same trial situation and get to run it a different way?

Well, I learned something. The fronts worked better in this case. My dog has much more clear direction with the front crosses. Now it could have been because I did a bad job of executing the rears, and I’ll accept that. But it told me something about my team. Page gets better direction when I’m in front of her and I need to do everything possible to continue to learn to be in front of her.

Run 1

Run 2

Looking back and looking forward

Ahhh, a quiet New Year's Eve. Just my style. I like this break between mid-December and the first of the year. It allows me to reflect on last year, check my goals and see what we can do in 2012.

Let's start with 2011 goals. For Devon, 2011 was about finishing her Champion Tracker and figuring out if she really was going to be an agility dog. I knew she could accomplish the VST/CT; she proved that in 2010 with her two near passes. I was excited for the spring tracking season, but when Devon only made it into one test out of the six we entered, I was discouraged. And to add to my frustration, that one test was the last test of the spring season in late May, and it was our first 85 degree day with not a cloud in the sky. Bless Devon's heart she tried, but she just couldn't find the track out onto the roof of a parking garage.

I think it was on the drive home, that I really was ready for the VST/CT journey to be done. I knew my dog could do it, but it was HARD!! And now, we had to wait all summer -- and another very hot summer -- and try again in October. I was not looking forward to getting up at 3:30 a.m. to put in tracks all summer. I'll leave Devon's CT post for another time, because it's overdue, but my superstar passed her first test of the fall season in fine style, earning her VST and Champion Tracker on Oct. 2, 2011. She is quite the girl!

Now to agility. Devon's agility career has never been consistent, always stopping in the spring through the early fall for tracking and field work. And I struggled putting foundation on her, causing training issues. This year, I decided no field and we were going to stay with at least two trials a month all year and see if this girl could get past her weave and teeter issues and have an agility career.

As far as titles, I wanted her AX and legs on her MX and MXJ. Frankly, I knew that was a tall order. She had been 2 years without a Standard leg and more than a year without a JWW leg. I'm thrilled to say that Devon proved she had the heart and love of the game I thought she did. Devon earned her AX in mid-November, and the following weekend earned her first MX leg away from home! She also has 4 MXJ legs and 38 MACH points. It's a start, and I'm thrilled for her.

In our last trial of the year, tough breaks cost us Qs all weekend, but I must have had a dozen people come up to me and tell me that Devon had never looked better. Many folks didn't even realize Devon wasn't Qing! She was confident and happy -- and really that's all I could ask for!

Page and I had a growing/training year. I had no title goals for her, but she did finish her OA, earn her OAJ and got her first AX leg this year. Our startline issues continued to plague us this year. She's a smart, pushy, driven girl who cuts me no slack. She's going to make me a much better dog trainer!

Finally, 2011 was a great learning year for me personally. I completed my first full year working as a consultant for an agency, my first time in the private sector after 11 years of working for two state governments. In my previous life I was able to compartmentalize work and doglife. I had time for one and then time for the other. However, in the last 15 months I've had to learn to blend the two, and in doing so work took priority and dog training suffered.

So that has lead to my thinking in the last 2-3 weeks about our 2012 goals. My thoughts have lead me to explore not only my dog goals, but also how they intertwine with my personal schedule. I arrived at two quotes that are my launching pad for my 2012 goals:

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (New Living Translation) ²⁴ Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

“The main reason for people’s lack of success in life is their willingness to give up what they want most of all, for what they want right now.” Zig Zigler

The last two years I've also thought about the My One Word project. I've tried to select one word to keep me on task and focused each year. I have to admit, 2011 was so hectic and chaotic, I can't even remember my one word!

So in searching for the passage in 1 Corinthians 9, I saw the subhead "The Need for Self-discipline" in the New International Version. That's when I knew I'd found my One Word (or two words hyphenated) for the year: Self-discipline.

So, working forward to our 2012 goals, I'll start with me. It's time for a true confession: I struggle to get out of bed in the morning. I have all these good intentions when I set the alarm (isn't here some saying about good intentions?), and then I hit the snooze for 45 minutes to an hour! Really! Every 7 minutes, I walk across the bedroom into my bathroom and hit the snooze and go back to bed. My poor dogs are so used to this, they don't even move!

So then my chaotic day is off to an even worse start, because I'm already mad at myself for missing my morning workout and my morning training session with the girls. Then of course someone at work needs me to do a rush project for them and I'm off and running on that before I even leave the house. That guilt from the morning carries through the day and I'm exhausted when I get home and I just give up and go to bed and start things over again -- no work out down and no dogs trained.

So, self-discipline begins with getting up when the alarm goes off. I've already started this during my holidays and this week back to work and I'm happy to report I'm getting better! Now I'm only hitting the snooze for 15 minutes! And I'm working out in the mornings again!

So, there's a sneak peak at my 2012 goals: getting up on time, maintaining my fitness program, eating more fruits and veggies (yes those nasty green things) and building in time to train the girls regularly. All those goals build on each other, and they all take self-discipline!

Next, we'll move to Page. Many of her problems are due to deficient training time. For the first 20 months of her life, she had it great. I worked from home part time. She got trained once or twice a day. Her mind was always engaged as was her body, with very little crate time. Now she's lucky if she gets two training sessions in a week, and she spends most of her day in a crate with occasional breaks and play time with my parents (my dad is now an expert toy thrower for Page!).

For Page, 2012 will continue to be a year of training, with few title goals. We need to get our training and teamwork back and better than ever! I need to be more focused and directed in my training sessions, with not only agility, but also field and obedience. I'm leaning toward taking a couple of months off from agility competition with Page to work on some specific training goals. I'll finalize this plan in the next few days. I also want to progress in her obedience training that has been spotty in the last two years. Once the weather breaks, I want to finish her transition training. I don't think we'll test this fall. I think maturity and time will be beneficial for Page's field career.

For Devon, 2012 will continue to be about agility. I want to see if we can knock off her MX and MXJ titles this year. I also want to see where she is this time next year in double Qs and MACH points. I would love to get her MACH, but I want to see what she wants to do. Is she consistent enough to MACH? I suspect she is, but I'm not convinced yet. I prefer to take this goal one step at a time, and I'd like to know that she's still running as strong and confident in December 2012 as she looked in December 2011. The MX and MXJ are for me; the game is for her.

I also want to solidify all of Devon's obedience training in 2012 with the thought of trialing in 2013. I have absolutely loved the two lessons I've done this fall with Bridget Carlsen! I see amazing progress in Devon, and I'm going to continue those and a seminar with her in 2012.

As far as field, I think we're going to play with no pressure this year. When Page trains, Devon will train. I'm anxious to try some set ups and see what Devon has this year after taking some time off. In 2011 our only field work was a WCX in July at Hambden, and Devon was amazing. She was the only dog of 14 that passed the test. She was strong and steady, and I absolutely love walking to the line with this dog.

Finally, I think I have one more goal for myself, and that's a goal for competition with Devon. When my head's in the right place, Devon runs like a dream. When I'm anxious for a Q, Devon doesn't run as well. I need to get my mental game in place so that I remember each time I walk to the line that it's a privilege to step into the ring with my amazing dogs. My girls want to play these games with me -- how lucky am I? When my attitude isn't right, they tell me.

So that's it for my 2012 goals. Self-discipline for me to help me get my goals and the girls' goals on track. See, it's as easy as one word (or two hyphenated)!

Smiling at your dog

I was reading a devotional this morning, and I came across this section:

We can affirm with eye contact, too. Try smiling at your child with your eyes. We often convey discipline through our eyes; but we can also communicate warmth and affirmation with our eyes.

It reminded me of my first obedience lesson with the late Al Breece. He lived outside of Columbus, Ohio, and trained seven or more CH OTCH Belgian Sheepdogs and Tervurens. His great CH OTCH Houdini sparked a love in me for Belgian Sheepdogs, which resulted in my getting Houdini's nephew Ian a few years later.

I took Reece to Al for obedience lessons. Reece was only about a year old, and he had some fear/reaction aggression issues, which he grew out of by 2 years of age through training. The first thing Al did was just look at Reece and smile. Reece relaxed his body posture and wagged his tail. Al looked up at me and said, "Well, good. He knows what a smile is."

I wish I had not been so intimidated at the time and asked Al why he did that. Today, I can make a few guesses. But it has always made me smile at my dogs, just to tell them I think they are great. I caught myself doing it just this morning, in fact. It usually makes that dog wag it's tail, and then another pup (usually Devon) will be jealous that someone's getting attention and they come to me for attention; leading to me being surrounded by everyone wanting their share of attention.

But I still think it's nice that my dog knows what a smile is.

Reece (April 4, 1997-May 19, 2011)

Reece was helped across the Rainbow Bridge this morning. My Novice A dog; my strong-willed, independent border collie who always questioned my judgment. From Novice A and trained thru utility, plus agility and rally and even a little herding. What I would give to have you all over again, now that I am the trainer you deserved. I’ll see you again someday.